So, here again is my BK Dubow contract A2 replica I won on Ebay. I was sent this email from Andy when I inquired about it.
"Thanks for your email.
This jacket was made with a test leather we imported from Japan. Unfortunately, the tannery misinterpreted our requests how to tan it and they overdid it with the pigment coating. The coating is thicker than it should be (yet soft) and that gives the impresion of plastic. The tannery is a famous one from Japan and their leathers have a somewhat plastic feel (lesser than of this jacket) yet they are loved by many fans worldwide.
This is a good leather but the finish is wrong (not what we asked for) and indeed feels like plastic.
It is also shiny and that makes things even worse. That is the reason why we decided not to use it.
The leather grain is natural it came like that from the (perhaps older) animals. If the tannery had not failed with the finishing, this could have been one of the greatest leathers for A-2 jackets.
If this jacket is sanded down so that the sheen is removed and part of the overly finish is also removed, then it may look very close to original WWII jackets. That is something for someone who has the courage and energy to do it to find out.
The jacket quality is still above average and a better representation of WWII jacket than those of many other mediocre brands.
This leather predates the Victory and the Liberty. It was the time when we stopped looking for leathers in Japan and turned to Italy. Both Victory and Liberty leathers come from Italy. At that time we did not name our leathers anything, so it was just called "Horsehide". Had it been better we would had named it after the tannery. We were quite unhappy with this leather so when afterwards we found the Italian leather, that was a victorious moment for us (considering how hard is to find good horsehide) and so we called it Victory. And also because we knew how good it was compared to our competitors offerings so by using it we could easily beat them and declare Victory over the competition.
Liberty horsehide was developed at another tannery because the tannery that made the Victory refused to tan per our specs and offered only their tanning. The Victory was a marvellous leather but it was not WWII accurate in appearance and we wanted a clone of the original WWII leather. Plus the Victory tannery took ages to produce and we needed leather fast. Those were the reasons that lead to the birth of Liberty. The tannery that made the Victory have long discontinued. Nowadays they take custom orders so a new Victory horsehide made according to our specs can be developed. It is a project we have for the future but it will depend on demand for jackets as Victory leather is very expensive.
The ebay jacket must have been made around 2008-2009 if memory serves me well.
My recommendation is to forget this jacket. Our leathers, materials and techniques etc have evolved greatly since that jacket is made.
We have now reached a point that there is very little or zero things to do to improve our jackets' accuracy any further. We have reached the ceiling so to speak. Our new A-2 jackets are as close to original as can ever be and better than any other's, anywhere and at any price. You will note also that we are the cheapest high end repro maker, even cheaper than the Scottish brand whose A-2 jackets are far from being accurate WWII jacket repros.
If you buy our Dubow 27798 and have ever seen/handled an original you will understand and admit that we have no rival.
I hope the above gave you all the insight you need.
best regards,
Andy"
And here are some pics. I have to say I like it very much and its not as plastic feeling to my hands. I obviously went with my gut feeling and purchased the jacket anyway. Its sturdy and I feel that It will last a long time. It probably won't patina as much as the next jacket but its ok. I won't have to baby this one. I would like to see if there is anyone else here on the forum who owns one of these or a jacket made from this hide that only 10 jackets were said to be made from it. Maybe there are some pics out there from owners that show the jacket after heavy wear.
"Thanks for your email.
This jacket was made with a test leather we imported from Japan. Unfortunately, the tannery misinterpreted our requests how to tan it and they overdid it with the pigment coating. The coating is thicker than it should be (yet soft) and that gives the impresion of plastic. The tannery is a famous one from Japan and their leathers have a somewhat plastic feel (lesser than of this jacket) yet they are loved by many fans worldwide.
This is a good leather but the finish is wrong (not what we asked for) and indeed feels like plastic.
It is also shiny and that makes things even worse. That is the reason why we decided not to use it.
The leather grain is natural it came like that from the (perhaps older) animals. If the tannery had not failed with the finishing, this could have been one of the greatest leathers for A-2 jackets.
If this jacket is sanded down so that the sheen is removed and part of the overly finish is also removed, then it may look very close to original WWII jackets. That is something for someone who has the courage and energy to do it to find out.
The jacket quality is still above average and a better representation of WWII jacket than those of many other mediocre brands.
This leather predates the Victory and the Liberty. It was the time when we stopped looking for leathers in Japan and turned to Italy. Both Victory and Liberty leathers come from Italy. At that time we did not name our leathers anything, so it was just called "Horsehide". Had it been better we would had named it after the tannery. We were quite unhappy with this leather so when afterwards we found the Italian leather, that was a victorious moment for us (considering how hard is to find good horsehide) and so we called it Victory. And also because we knew how good it was compared to our competitors offerings so by using it we could easily beat them and declare Victory over the competition.
Liberty horsehide was developed at another tannery because the tannery that made the Victory refused to tan per our specs and offered only their tanning. The Victory was a marvellous leather but it was not WWII accurate in appearance and we wanted a clone of the original WWII leather. Plus the Victory tannery took ages to produce and we needed leather fast. Those were the reasons that lead to the birth of Liberty. The tannery that made the Victory have long discontinued. Nowadays they take custom orders so a new Victory horsehide made according to our specs can be developed. It is a project we have for the future but it will depend on demand for jackets as Victory leather is very expensive.
The ebay jacket must have been made around 2008-2009 if memory serves me well.
My recommendation is to forget this jacket. Our leathers, materials and techniques etc have evolved greatly since that jacket is made.
We have now reached a point that there is very little or zero things to do to improve our jackets' accuracy any further. We have reached the ceiling so to speak. Our new A-2 jackets are as close to original as can ever be and better than any other's, anywhere and at any price. You will note also that we are the cheapest high end repro maker, even cheaper than the Scottish brand whose A-2 jackets are far from being accurate WWII jacket repros.
If you buy our Dubow 27798 and have ever seen/handled an original you will understand and admit that we have no rival.
I hope the above gave you all the insight you need.
best regards,
Andy"
And here are some pics. I have to say I like it very much and its not as plastic feeling to my hands. I obviously went with my gut feeling and purchased the jacket anyway. Its sturdy and I feel that It will last a long time. It probably won't patina as much as the next jacket but its ok. I won't have to baby this one. I would like to see if there is anyone else here on the forum who owns one of these or a jacket made from this hide that only 10 jackets were said to be made from it. Maybe there are some pics out there from owners that show the jacket after heavy wear.
